The Painful Truth
by Bellum Gerere
Summary: The Evanson family has some problems-namely the reuniting between sisters Bella and Alice is causing an unexpected fight over Bella's boyfriend Jasper. J/B, A/J, B/E. AU/major OOC. Co-written with The Midnight Moon.
1. Preface

_So, this is a story I'm co-writing with redchevygirl1987. I'm doing the prologue and the even-numbered chapters from Jasper's POV. She's doing the odd-numbered Bella POV chapters and a possible epilogue. The story is also posted on her profile, and we'll both be updating each other's chapters. I'd appreciate it a lot if you guys could review on her profile too. Until chapter two!_

_-Alice :P_

**The Painful Truth**

**Prologue**

**Esme Evanson**

He wasn't there when I woke up from my chemical-induced sleep, but _they_ were. I could sense them-the most minute presences in the two small cribs on the left side of my bed. With a great effort, I pushed myself up to look at them.

They were beautiful, that much was obvious, and as different as night and day. One was larger than the other. Her sparse hair was a light brown that matched her eyes. She was wide awake and alert, trying to grab my hand. I reached down to her, letting her wrap her tiny fingers around mine.

"Bella," I said quietly. "Your name is Bella since you're so beautiful."

I turned to my other baby, fast asleep in her safe haven. She had more hair than Bella, and hers was a dark brown-nearly black. She was much smaller than her sister-it was almost comical. I lifted her carefully into my arms, trying to think of a suitable name for her.

When I was situated in the semi-reclining hospital bed, she opened her eyes. They were gray-blue and seemingly endless. You could get lost in those eyes. Fall down them…

I smiled as I decided what I would call her. "And your name is Alice, because I could just fall into your eyes."

She whimpered, a barely-audible sound as she tried to burrow closer to me. I sat her down on my lap for a moment to pick up Bella, and then I held one in each arm. it was the epitome of a perfect moment. I'd never been happier.

And then the door opened, and in walked Carlisle Cullen.

I knew him, of course-aside from being a doctor here, he was also the one who'd gotten me pregnant. I closed my eyes briefly, hoping that it was an illusion. I didn't want him near my babies. He was the one who'd abandoned them.

"Esme," he said. I was looking at the state of your bank account"-here he ignored my unjustified (after all, I was the one who'd given him access to it) incredulous glare-"and I have some bad news."

I waited patiently.

"It looks like, if you don't get a significant raise, you'll only have enough money to really care for one of them."

I stared in shock. No. _No. _He couldn't possibly mean…

"You'll have to give one of them up," he continued gently.

I shook my head in denial, pulling them closer. "No. You can't. I won't let you."

"Think about it," he insisted. "Would you rather have one of them grow up taken care of away from you, or both of them at a loss because you're barely getting by?"

I hesitated. He was right. I didn't want to condemn both of them to this fate.

"You have to," he repeated. "I'm sorry."

I looked down at my babies. Bella had given in to tiredness and was sleeping with a contented look on her face. Alice, however, had her eyes open, holding stubbornly on to the front of my flimsy hospital gown. I knew that if I tried to put her down, she would protest. She was a fighter-and that was what I needed.

"Here." I gently removed her hand from my gown and held her out to Carlisle. As I vanished from her line of sight, her whimpers became more and more frequent until she was crying. Carlisle's attempts to calm her down did nothing.

As I watched them leave, clutching Bella to my chest, I repeated his words.

"I have to. I'm sorry."


	2. Nameless Mystery

_So, chapter one! I know it's been a while, but…don't blame me because SOME PEOPLE are slow =) I'm talking to you, Bella. Anyway, here it is. Reviews are welcome…which is a less obvious way of saying please review._

_-Alice :P_

**The Painful Truth**

**Chapter One: Nameless Mystery**

**Bella Evanson**

The night was dark. Too dark. Black and pressing in on me. Eerie-like someone was watching me, learning everything about me. Thinking about me. For some reason, this frightened me, especially on this darkest of nights.

I could practically hear the horror movie soundtrack playing in the background.

For several minutes I contemplated that. I'd always been overly dramatic, but this seemed ridiculous. _There's no one out there_, I told myself, and that comforting thought lulled me to sleep.

~oOo~

_Gunshots rang out from a distance as I stumbled through the streets. The town was small, with at most twenty houses and a marketplace. Fires blazed in an empty field where, from opposite sides, men fired at each other. it was midnight. The people should've been asleep._

_"My baby! My baby! Oh, help, she's hurt!" A woman not yet eighteen carried a blanket-wrapped bundle at her chest as other men and women hurried past her with their families and what little belongings they could carry, heading away from what was once home._

_"Someone help this poor woman!" A man in a Civil War military suit towered over the crowd on his horse. His piercing blue eyes gave the impression that he could see right through you, know all your secrets. I knew those eyes. "Woman, help your sister!"_

_I didn't realize he was talking to me until he'd dismounted and was dragging me towards the stranger. There was an easy familiarity between them that I wasn't a part of. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers quickly. He pulled away, smiled down at her, then remounted and rode away, leaving us alone._

_I looked at the woman. Long dark hair trailed down to her breast, where she held the baby near. "What's wrong with her?" I asked, reaching for the blanket. She got there before I did, pulling it back to reveal a beautiful red rose just about to bloom. My hand hovered in midair as I stared at it._

_She pulled the blanket away and whispered "It's _our_ secret," before turning her back on me to continue down the street. When she was several yards away she started up the same mournful cry._

~oOo~

I didn't open my eyes right away when I woke up out of fear that I'd be back in the dream. As usual, though, I had to, just to see what time it was, so I cracked one eye open to look at the clock.

Four twenty-nine. Good enough.

Pulling on a robe to shield myself from the cold, I walked downstairs and brewed a pot of coffee. I needed something warm this morning. It wasn't just the beginning of fall-every day in Forks, Washington felt like winter.

Several hours passed as I sat on our junky couch in front of the TV and twisted my hair between my fingers. I wanted to turn it on, but I didn't dare. It would probably wake Esme and cause a fight between us like everything did.

After four cups of coffee I could feel the warmth and energy start to return to my body. Even then, I had to wrap my arms around myself to stay warm.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs as I rushed to the bathroom to hide. I'd only left one cup of coffee for Esme, and that would no doubt annoy her.

"Isabella, are you still in your pajamas?" she said, rapping on the door.

"No," I replied instantly.

"I know when you're lying. Get dressed. Don't worry about breakfast; you'll have lunch in a couple hours. Besides, you drank all the coffee."

I took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom with the robe pulled tightly closed.

"Isabella?" She pulled the robe open, revealing my Hello Kitty pajamas. "Don't lie. It's not good for you."

As I walked down the hallway, I mocked her. "_Don't lie. It's not good for you._"

"I can hear you!" she yelled back at me. I kept walking.

~oOo~

I held a navy blue top up in front of the mirror. It had been my favorite since eighth grade. Even though I was seventeen, I never really gained weight. Or grew. I'd stopped at five foot four.

"What would Jasper like?" I asked myself for the hundredth time.

"I don't think Jasper cares about your outfit," Esme yelled, "but he _does_ care if he's late."

I gritted my teeth hand pulled the shirt on. I was already wearing shoes and my favorite black jeans. My backpack was on the floor, and I grabbed it as I headed for the porch.

"It's only six thirty-four. I have plenty of time," I said as I shut the front door.

_Solitude._ I pulled the lighter out of my pocket and lit up. There were only four cigarettes left. I would need to sneak some money and buy more soon.

I saw him round the corner three houses down and stepped on the cigarette before he could see it. It fell down the gap between the porch stairs. As he approached, I took him in-blue eyes, wavy blond hair, the body of a male model. As he came closer, I could see something was missing…his smile.

'What's wrong, babe?" I brushed his hair out of his face and smiled up at him.

"Nothing." He pulled my hand away, kissing me gently on the forehead, then the lips. "Let's go."

The whole way there I badgered him to tell me. His response was always the same-"nothing." Finally, about a block from school, I pushed him up against the wall of an alley.

"You can tell me," I said. "No one's here. It's just an alley.

"Yeah, an alley full of ears." He jerked his head towards the orphanage. A girl that looked about my age was staring, wide-eyed, at Jasper. She looked like the girl from my dream, but with shorter hair. When I turned my head, she locked eyes with me for just a second before she closed the curtains.


	3. There Will Be Tears

**The Painful Truth**

**Chapter Two: There Will Be Tears**

**Jasper Hale**

If I was being honest with myself, I knew that something was up with Bella. I pretended not to notice because I didn't like conflict. Bella herself was an issue as well. I would never want to hurt, but by the time I finally confronted her I had no choice.

I recalled her strange behavior this morning when we were in the alley. How she'd stalked away from me thinking I was being difficult. The reality of the situation was this: I was worried about her. That was all there was to it.

On the way home from school I held her hand loosely, but she gripped tighter as we passed the site of our earlier argument. At first I thought she meant to apologize, before I looked at her and saw her glaring through the window.


	4. Picture Of A Lifetime

**The Painful Truth**

**Chapter Three: Picture of a Lifetime**

**Bella Evanson**

I wasn't sure what drew me to the window. It was just the old orphanage where Esme volunteered when I was small. As I grew, she seemed to become more wary of it. I still wonder why she was attached it and why she would come home longing to be there. _What's wrong with me?_ _Why am I worrying about this?_

I just stood there and stared at the window. It had two panels and was open halfway. Lace curtains slightly covered it, and a lamp sat in front of it where it was partially opened. A shadow passed it a couple times.

I looked at Jasper with a smile that surely made me look confused and startled. When I glanced back at the window it was closed, curtain shut.

"It makes no sense!" I groaned.

"What?" Jasper tugged impatiently at my hand, telling me without words to get a move on.

"Did I ever tell you that Esme worked at the orphanage?" I looked back again

"No," Jasper said hesitantly.

"Well, not worked. Volunteered. But I don't get why she did it."

We arrived at my house, a small two-story with an empty garage. White paneling framed it and the porch was a faded brown begging to be repainted.

Jasper walked me up to the front porch, leaned down, and kissed me. He was shy with his kiss. When he drew back, he walked away, the stairs squeaking as he walked.

I opened the door and saw Esme sitting on the sofa watching TV. For some odd reason, it was…the Food Network?

"Esme?"

"Oh!" Esme looked startled and fumbled for the remote, changing the channel. "I was just watching _Criminal Minds_. Your boy toy is in this episode."

"Yeah right!" I looked at the horrendously small screen and lo and behold, there he was-my, well…

"Oh my God, he looks just like Jasper."

I stared at the screen for the last few minutes until the episode came to a close.

"Esme?" I said hesitantly. "Why did you volunteer so much at the orphanage when you knew I was at home alone?"

Esme gagged and then coughed at the fact that I was even bring up the subject.

"What?" She seemed more confused than angry.

"Let me rephrase that. why were you connected to the orphanage more than me?"

"I-I…they needed me."

"But I needed you too. I was only a baby." I barely remember the days when I grew up. She would joke about how I would get so messy when she was gone that she would have to use almost the whole bottle of wipes to clean me up, because she couldn't afford a babysitter.

"Y-yeah. I know you did. I have to go for a job interview at the local diner... I mean, restaurant." Esme got up from the sofa and walked towards the door that led to the empty garage. She pulled out he cell phone from her back pocket and dialed for a cab. Cabs were very rare here in Forks, since we only had one local service, and very expensive.

Esme didn't look like she was going for any job interview. She was dressed in a white low-cut halter top under a black jacket and jeans with frayed ends. She also had black ankle boots. she looked nineteen in that outfit. _Well, if she's going for a job in a bar, that's about right. _

She shut the door and I headed upstairs to the attic, where I would find a certain keepsake that would change my life forever.


End file.
